CLASSES AT BLAINES: Top Ten Photography Basics

Here is an example from tonight's class (14 Jan 2016) - an illustration of some of the basic steps that typically go into creating an image. This vine had some perfect heart-shaped leaves & was hanging under a canopy that produced shade surrounded by very bright sunlight. Follow along as I share my rationale, as well as some artistic choices, in the process of creating an image.

The journey began on a small footbridge at Jungle Gardens in Sarasota, Florida.

The first thing I noticed (see below) was the distracting bright light on the tree trunk, so I pulled out my diffuser to balance the dynamic range (the difference between the lightest lights & darkest darks).

The light here is much more balanced, but in this shot the aperture is set at f/16 & is introducing too much detail in the bark.

To soften the detail, the aperture is opened to f/5.0. I could have stopped here, but I wasn't 100% satisfied with the composition, the overlay of the leaf with the stem, & its slight angle.

To overcome all those issues, I chose a different leaf & shot from a different vantage point. I decide I'm happier with the placement of this leaf in the image, the shape of this "heart." But.... alas, I'm still not satisfied overall.

I change it up & reverse my position to allow for backlight to enter a leaf. The leaf now appears more dimensional than that in earlier shots, where I found it flat. I decide to stick with backlighting. So I begin searching for a leaf I can shoot from this direction without the intersecting line of the stem & the river of bright light in the background.